Short, hateful and sublimely coated in a venom akin to straight hatred, Certain Death takes a “less is more” approach to affirming the chilling truth of that title: Everything is finite, living is dying and just by existing, we’re slowly ebbing our bodies into a slow and slimy decay. Cryptic (borderline incoherent) lyrics make things a little left-of-center (but, I mean … I bet they hate society and stuff), but musically we’re talking pretty standard “one two feck you” core with a grind bent. Decent for what it is, but it flounders in the shadow of torchbearers (and labelmates) like Nails. Heartless has the potential to rise above the hodgepodge of bullet-belted anarcho-coremen dominating these labels, and this is definitely a step … but savvy listeners will still crave a little more substance, and maybe a few more Entombed riffs. –Dylan Chadwick